Mounds View Public Schools

District teacher wins place in national holocaust program

June 11, 2008 -- Tom Franta, a social studies teacher at Irondale High School, will spend 35 days in Washington, DC, Czech Republic, Poland, and Germany this summer exploring the Multiple Perspectives of the Holocaust. Franta was awarded the trip through a National Endowment for the Humanities grant and will visit holocaust sites in Terezin, Ravensbruck, Prague, Wannsee, Krakow, Auschwitz with a group of 30 other educators from around the country.

Irondale student selected for national Congressional Academy

May 20, 2008 -- Lori Schroeder, a junior at Irondale High School, will represent her school and the state of Minnesota at the 2008 Congressional Academy for American History and Civics June 29 - July 11 in Washington, D.C. Schroeder was one of two students in the state and one of 100 students nationwide selected to participate in the two-week academy funded by a grant from Congress through the U.S. Department of Education. During her time in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Gettysburg, Schroeder will engage in an intense study of American history and governance. She was recommended for this honor by her high school social studies teacher, Sarah Anderson.

Irondale students succeed at Personal Finance Decathlon

May 19, 2008 -- Irondale students Joshua Chermak, Anthony Dahlin, Daniel Hurley, Matthew Lee and Todd Hanson competed at the 2008 Minnesota State Personal Finance Decathlon in late April at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Led by coaches DaNae Klimek and Rachel Stensrud, the team won second place in the quiz bowl-like tournament that tests students' knowledge of personal finance. The purpose of the Personal Finance Decathlon is to increase financial literacy by encouraging and rewarding the study of personal finance. It recognizes students in grades 9-12 who have demonstrated excellence in categories such as earning income, paying taxes, borrowing, investing and thinking economically.

Cultural exchange introduces Irondale to schools in Bangladesh

May 15, 2008 -- Irondale High School teacher Richard Rosivach spent two weeks in Bangladesh in March visiting and teaching in six schools and a training center to help strengthen education systems in underdeveloped nations. To help his Irondale students become more culturally literate and globally aware, Rosivach included his students in this cultural exchange and asked them to prepare a video in response to questions from students his host school, Tatai Gaon Rasid Uddin High School. The goal of the video interaction and the exchange program, sponsored by the International Research and Exchange Board, was to help develop a more accurate and positive view of the United States in South Asia through educational and cultural exchanges, and to learn from the challenges and successes in educational approaches around the globe.

Valentine students raise more than $2,000 for a school in Africa

May 15, 2008 -- A successful effort to raise funds to bring clean drinking water to a school in Africa awarded Valentine Hills Elementary students the opportunity to “pie” their principal and teachers. After raising more than $2,000 for a H2O for Life project that will bring a water well to a school in the African village of Kathungu, Valentine Hills students celebrated by throwing whipped cream pies at willing teachers and the school’s principal.

District students named Medtronic Scholars

May 8, 2008 -- Irondale High School students Emily Clark and Christopher Rothstein, and Mounds View High School students Kelsey Minten and Laura Rusnacko were selected by the Wallin Scholarship Program recently as 2008 Medtronic Scholars. These Mounds View Public Schools seniors were among 18 students from area public schools that demonstrated the most academic promise, continued academic potential and the motivation to continue their studies. Students will be recognized at a reception at Medtronic World Headquarters on June 11 and will receive $16,000 in school scholarship money over the course of four years.